"s.e.xy," he drawled.
Maggie shrugged mid chew. He"d discovered her weakness. "Nothing gets between me and a cinnamon roll. They"re my favorite."
"Good to know." He sat back and relaxed. She watched him rotate his shoulders and move his head side to side.
"Sore muscles?" she asked. Maggie popped the last bite of her delicious sweet roll into her mouth and scooted closer to Tucker. "Turn around."
One of his eyebrows climbed.
Maggie ignored the look and climbed behind him in the tub. She curled her legs around his hips and snuggled comfortably so she could ma.s.sage his shoulders and back. Faced with the up close view of his muscles, she tried to ignore the tingle in her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and p.u.s.s.y. Her visceral reaction aside, she wanted to give something back to him.
"Have you slept much this week?" she asked.
He grunted some non-committal sound as her fingers went to work on his shoulders. "Sleep is overrated. Isn"t that what they say?"
"I guess," she answered. As she kneaded his muscles loose her mind wandered back to high school and the boy who"d stolen a kiss from her. He"d scared her witless when he"d pulled a reaction so fierce from her that she"d been numb for days afterward. Even now, all these years later, her body still came alive when she remembered the feel of his mouth on hers.
He"d become her secret crush for years. The unrequited l.u.s.t she never quite got over. After she"d left for college she moved on but somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that it was that one kiss that set the standard for every man who came after him.
"What happened to you after high school?" she blurted. There was so much she didn"t know and it was time to fill in the blanks.
His back stiffened, the move so slight if she hadn"t been touching him she"d likely not have noticed. A few seconds ticked by without an answer. Finally he sighed and the muscles underneath her hands relaxed a fraction.
"Same as you. I went off to college. Although I didn"t go far. I opted for football at East Carolina."
Maggie frowned. "You"d think I would have heard about one of our own becoming a college football star."
A deep rumble of laughter from Tucker made her smile. "You give me too much credit. The whole football thing ended up not working out."
"I find that hard to believe. I remember you were quite the superstar in high school."
"Things change when you least expect it." His voice lowered to a soft cadence.
She hoped that meant he was starting to relax. "So what happened to derail your plans? Did you meet a woman in college?"
"I met many women in college. It"s where I truly discovered my interest in BDSM. It was certainly an eye-opening experience. But when my dad died I had to come home and take care of my family."
Her hands stilled on his back. Smooth move, idiot. She vaguely remembered something about his dad dying. House fire, she thought.
"I"m sorry, I didn"t mean to dredge up bad memories."
He grabbed her right hand and turned back to her. "You have nothing to be sorry for, little one. It"s only natural for you to be curious about your new Dom."
A sudden burst of b.u.t.terflies took flight in her stomach. He kept referring to her as his, or calling himself her Dom. And she still wasn"t sure how to take it.
Tucker smiled. "You should see your face when you worry. It"s so adorable." He touched her brow and brushed his fingers back and forth across her skin. "Do you ever take anything at face value or do you attempt to a.n.a.lyze everything?"
Maggie sat back in her seat and grabbed the gla.s.s of orange juice he"d left for her on the tray. "Old habits I guess. It"s who I am. I live for facts and data."
Tucker leaned forward and licked the orange juice from her lip. "Here"s a fact for you. Very soon, I"m going to bend you over, hold you down and f.u.c.k you till you can"t walk."
Her eyes widened and her body went on alert. Thankfully, the frothing water covered her erect nipples from his gaze. Her chest constricted, forcing her to open her mouth to take in more air.
"Beautiful," he exclaimed before he swooped in and kissed her hard. His tongue thrust inside and roughly tangled with hers. An edge of need exploded inside her. One minute they were having a casual conversation and the next he"d turned it around and began taking what he wanted. Never in her life had she felt so desired, even cherished.
He had a way of dominating their time together that made her want nothing more than to give him everything. He tumbled her further into the water until the long length of his erection prodded her belly. He made it so easy to let go...
Tucker turned Maggie in his arms and continued to kiss her at random intervals. At this angle he easily pushed two fingers inside her. The water from the hot tub wasn"t the only thing keeping her wet. He stifled a groan against her neck. She would be the death of him if he wasn"t careful. He realized remaining calm was an impossible goal when he felt his c.o.c.k pulse against her soft skin.
Screw this. "C"mon." Tucker lifted her from the water and carried her to the nearby lounge chair where he"d be able to lay her out, watch the sun glow across her skin and f.u.c.k them both into oblivion.
There simply was no getting enough of his Maggie...
Chapter Fourteen.
Tucker stared down at the woman hunched over in the corner of the garden room. The plush chair enveloped her, making her look more fragile than ever. He"d stood here for at least an hour hoping to gain a response from her but like the other hundreds of times he"d visited her, she refused to look at him or utter a sound. At a time like this he found it almost impossible to remember the mother he"d once had. She"d been so vibrant and loving with the whole world at her feet, including him.
He wasn"t above admitting how much of a mama"s boy he"d been growing up. He"d lived with a hard, unyielding father who constantly rode his a.s.s and his mother"s beauty and grace balanced that.
Until the fateful night his entire world had come crashing down. He often wondered what would have happened if he, Mason and Levi had not decided to head to his house for a long weekend that day.
"Mr. Lewis. Visiting hours are over." A nurse spoke softly behind him. They often gave him a lot of leeway, but if they were urging him to go now then it was truly time for him to leave. "You"ve certainly done your best by your mother, Sir. Sometimes it"s just easier for patients to not face the pain inside them."
He winced at the nurses" words. He knew they were meant to comfort and soothe, but they had the opposite effect on him. Of course, she had no idea how awful the truth really was. It didn"t surprise him that his beautiful mother had chosen to withdraw from life. h.e.l.l, he"d followed the same path for a while. Except he"d hidden at home more often than not with a bottle of alcohol and a parade of warm bodies to keep him company. If not for his stubborn sister he could have easily fallen into the same pit as his mother.
Nina was an incredible woman, who"d endured far worse, and he discovered pretty quickly that they were each other"s rocks. With the loss of Levi and Mason from their lives, they"d each found their own path of recovery. She"d put all of her energy and effort into her business, which now thrived, and he"d burned through the betrayal and loss with gla.s.s and a hot furnace.
Maggie"s return had been the final wake up call. He"d eagerly antic.i.p.ated their inevitable reunion while spending those last weeks putting his life into an order that made sense. Business was still business but he spent a small fortune each month on the right people to run it for him, while he did his level best to stay out of the spotlight. None of them could afford to draw attention too close. He glanced again at his mother. There were so many things he wished for her that were completely out of his control.
His father"s death had resulted from the worst night of their lives and no amount of pleading and promising got through to her. He"d tried it all. She wasn"t even Nina"s mother and he"d watched his sister hold her hand and promise her that everything would be fine if she came back to her son. That what she"d endured meant nothing compared to a family"s love.
Tucker pushed off the wall he"d let hold him up. Weariness weighed him down as usual. He"d go, since there was nothing he could do here. Of course, that wouldn"t stop him from returning next week and trying all over again.
He turned and touched the kind nurses" shoulder. "Thank you, Bessie. You"ve been so kind to our family I wish you"d let me repay you."
Tears shimmered in the woman"s eyes. "There is nothing to repay. Your mother has a beautiful soul and it is a privilege to care for her."
He grimaced. "How can you tell? She"s never spoken to you."
"It doesn"t take words to read a person Mr. Lewis. Just like I see you standing here for hours every week watching over her, I see the look in her eyes when you arrive. She loves you more than words can say."
The bitter pill of the nurse"s statement lodged in his throat. If his mother were still present and emotionally aware then why the h.e.l.l wouldn"t she speak to him? They could have gotten through this together.
Tucker had to fight the urge to put his fist through something. It was time to say goodbye before he did something stupid. He strode over to his mother"s chair and leaned down to press a kiss to her temple. "Love you, mom. I"ll see you next Sunday. Wish me luck this week. If things work out the way I want I may have a surprise for you when I return." To his infernal dismay, his words had no affect on her. She sat perfectly motionless with her eyes staring straight ahead out the window.
He lifted his head and followed her line of sight. The winter landscape wasn"t the most appealing but his mother could sit and overlook the water from either the solarium or her room. He"d made sure that was an option for her. All her life she"d wanted to be as close to water as possible. The large man-made lake might not be ideal but it served its purpose as she sat here in front of the window all day, every day thinking who knew what.
Satisfied that his mother was well taken care of and that he"d see her again in seven days, he gently squeezed her thin shoulder and walked out. On autopilot he moved through the visitors center and out into the parking lot. He"d been fortunate that the Rose Park Center was not only one of the highest-rated treatment facilities for mental health, it also only took him a couple of hours drive to reach it.
Today he needed every minute of that drive to shake off the weight of his mother"s condition before he returned home. Well, not exactly his home. He"d taken Maggie to her parents cabin early this morning with the promise he"d be back as soon as possible. He preferred sooner rather than later. His choice had been for her to wait for him at his house but she"d insisted on going home. In the face of his refusal to elaborate on his errand, her excuse to retrieve some clothes and personal items rang hollow. She also didn"t seem to believe him that there would be no need for any clothing today. His house, his rules.
They hadn"t even made their way back to the playroom. There were so many things he had in mind to do to her there. Not that his bedroom wasn"t adequately equipped. Tucker slid into the back seat of his car and nodded for his driver to go. Maggie didn"t know it, but having her in his life made some of the dark shadows infinitely lighter. She had a smile that tempted even the coldest heart to thaw and the look of a sprite with unkempt hair who had an inquisitive mind bound to get her in trouble again. And curves made for sin... He adjusted his pants to make more room in the crotch and blew out a hard breath. It was d.a.m.ned difficult to think about Maggie and not get hard.
From the moment he"d received the fateful call from his sister that she"d returned, Maggie had never been far from his mind. Some of what he"d lost came back that day. The legacy of his father had fractured so many lives it had taken many of them years to recover. Maggie back in his life made him want to move on and start really living again.
He closed his eyes and laid his head back on the seat and imagined his little sub in the hot tub the morning before. She"d been such a delight his cheeks still hurt from smiling. So many of her reactions spoke of innocence. Not the "Ooh I"m a virgin" kind of innocence, he thought. More like the "I"m not jaded" kind.
He hesitated, remembering Mason"s very real warnings barely twenty-four hours before. He ignored the perpetual knot in his stomach. Mason was right about one thing. He"d let paranoia rule him for far too long. For the first time in a very long time, his instincts told him that Maggie was not like the others and could care less about his money or his secrets. Life had not been easy for her and it was her turn to be taken care of. As far as he could tell she"d given everything she could to her marriage and career and then had the rug ripped out from under her. The pain in her heart was something she"d live with for quite a while.
Tucker grit his teeth against the burning behind his eyes. The thought of hurting Maggie made his chest tighten and his gut burn. A woman like her deserved to be cherished.
Her ex husband must have been an idiot. However, he was not. It was time to take the next step with Maggie. Right after one more stop...
Maggie opened her front door with a smile on her face and not a d.a.m.n thing else. Faced with a willing and gorgeous woman who tugged at him in ways he didn"t quite know how to express, he immediately forgot about the "talk" he"d planned. Instead she"d triggered the Dom who desperately needed to connect with his enchanting submissive.
Her smile died and concerned etched across her lovely face. "What"s wrong?"
"This is definitely not what I"d expected." His voice lowered and vibrated with the desire already tugging at his groin. "Not that I"m complaining," he clarified.
He stepped through the door and closed it behind him. "However, if you"re going to greet me in the nude I"d much prefer to see you waiting in a submissive pose. On you knees, little one."
Maggie frowned and stared at him. He read the concern and the unanswered questions that would have to wait until later. He wasn"t ready to talk about it. "Not now. Trust me."
Her internal war continued for a few seconds longer before she bit her lip, lowered her eyes and sank to the ground as instructed. Tucker pushed the box he"d been holding into his jacket pocket before he removed the coat and draped it across one of her living room chairs. He stood back and studied every inch of her. She was a pretty woman but naked and on her knees she took his breath away. He stepped forward and touched her hair, smiling with deep satisfaction when she relaxed her posture under his hand.
"I"d ask what you"ve been up to today, but doubt that"s what either of us wants right now. You"ve honored me with your openness and I plan to take full advantage of it."
"I"m yours, Master," she spoke quietly.
"Yes, you are. Now stand and undress me." The thought of her hands touching him made him harder. He"d been right about one thing. A short-term fling with Maggie would never be enough. Tonight he"d convince her that she needed him as much as he needed her. Teaching her about D/s had started out as a great idea in his head but he"d known almost from the moment he touched her that she"d irrevocably change him. She"d made him incessantly hungry for more.
As she stood, he reached for a breast and began plucking at her nipples. "It"s a shame I don"t carry nipple clamps. These beauties look incredible clamped and tied."
She raised her face. "I have some."
Tucker worked hard not to let his mouth drop open. "Mmm." He pinched a puckered tip particularly hard. "Such a surprise you are." He dropped his hands and nodded his head. "Go get them then. Hurry, Maggie. I"m not feeling particularly patient today."
She spun and ran for the back of the cabin. To facilitate the coming scene, Tucker unb.u.t.toned his shirt and removed his belt.
His little sub returned and held up more than simple nipple clamps. No his Maggie, had clamps connected by a chain which then attached to a dark purple and black thick leather collar. He stared at the items in his hand. "Have you worn this before? Who bought it for you?"
A nervous look crossed her face and those adorable teeth nibbled on her lip again. "I bought it. I thought I could get an idea of what it felt like to experience some pain without a spanking and I"d get a chance to feel the weight of a collar around my neck. For research," she added.
Uh. Huh. Research. Poor little sub wanted it so bad she tried it out by herself. That put a picture of her spread out in bed with the clamps and collar restricting her as she m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.ed. He wiped his eyes and shook his head. "Show me."
"What?" He watched her eyes open wide.
"You heard me. You"re mine to do with as I wish tonight and I wish to see exactly how you played with this. Right now." He"d sharpened his voice, giving her no choice but to comply.
Maggie"s hands fidgeted with the collar until she got the buckle undone. With slow and slightly jerky moves, she placed the collar around her neck. Tucker moved behind her and helped her fasten the thick and supple leather. Not exactly what he"d had in mind, but f.u.c.k if she didn"t look hot like this.
He spun her around to face him again, pulling her close to briefly grind his c.o.c.k against her mound. "Keep going."
Her mouth opened on a pant but her hands moved of their own volition. She lifted one dark clamp and loosened the side screw before she squeezed the clip onto one of her tight, dusky nipples. The harsh breath that huffed from her gorgeous mouth went straight to his already straining d.i.c.k.
Fortunately for them both, she hurriedly attached the other one as Tucker strained not to bend her over and shove his c.o.c.k in her p.u.s.s.y where they stood. It had taken some time for him to get his groove back, but it was there now. The Dominant in him needed to take...
With both t.i.ts pinned, Maggie groaned.
"You like that bite of pain don"t you?" From the moment she"d expressed her distaste for spanking, he"d pushed against her misconceptions in regards to various forms of pain. He didn"t need her to love the act of spanking as much as he did, he only needed her not to hate or fear it. Since he loved to spank a pretty sub"s a.s.s, he"d happily reserve that act for when she"d earned a punishment. Something they"d need to address fairly soon.
Her eyes lifted and met his. "I never really thought I would," she admitted.
"It"s nothing to be ashamed of Maggie. Nor is being wrong about something shameful. We all make mistakes."
He reached for the pressure screws on the clamps and gave them a quarter clockwise turn.
Maggie gasped. "f.u.c.k."
"Mmm. Such a perfect word from a saucy little mouth." He reached out and cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. They filled his hands to perfection and he simply couldn"t get enough of them. Or anything else about her. He flicked the tip of a clamped nipple and inwardly sighed at the lovely pants coming from his little Miss Maggie. This was how her body was meant to be decorated. Although later it would be his collar wrapped around her neck, not one she"d purchased on her own.
"Who do you belong to, Maggie?" He wanted so much to hear it from her.
"You, Master. I belong to you."
He ran his fingers around both b.r.e.a.s.t.s before taking one finger further down her chest and belly. He swirled it in her belly b.u.t.ton and imagined how incredible she"d look with a simple decorative stud here that his tongue could play with as he worshipped her body on a nightly basis. After she accepted his collar she would without question be his to do as pleased. He continued past the swell of her belly and dipped toward her soft p.u.s.s.y.
"Do you wish to truly belong to me, Maggie?"
Her eyes widened and a sheen of tears glossed over her eyes. "I really do," she whispered. "More than anything else."
Her heartfelt words tugged at his heart. If he hadn"t already been falling in love with her...
Claim her.
The words kept reappearing in his mind like a continual chant. He steeled against the driving desire and focused on what Maggie needed. He dipped his hand lower and between her soaked folds. She was ready for him. He circled her c.l.i.t over and over being careful not to get too close to the bundle of nerves that would set her off. He wasn"t ready for her to go there yet.
Tucker bent forward and grasped the chain running between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s with his teeth and straightened to his full height. Maggie groaned when the chain pulled taut and the pain in her t.i.ts sharpened. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened to the perfect O.
"Do you want to serve me as my submissive?"